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Body size and substrate type modulate movement by the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster solaris.

ABSTRACT: The movement capacity of the crown-of-thorns starfishes (Acanthaster spp.) is a primary determinant of both their distribution and impact on coral assemblages. We quantified individual movement rates for the Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster solaris) ranging in size from 75-480 mm total diameter, across three different substrates (sand, flat consolidated pavement, and coral rubble) on the northern Great Barrier Reef. The mean (±SE) rate of movement for smaller (<150 mm total diameter) A. solaris was 23.99 ± 1.02 cm/ min and 33.41 ± 1.49 cm/ min for individuals >350 mm total diameter. Mean (±SE) rates of movement varied with substrate type, being much higher on sand (36.53 ± 1.31 cm/ min) compared to consolidated pavement (28.04 ± 1.15 cm/ min) and slowest across coral rubble (17.25 ± 0.63 cm/ min). If average rates of movement measured here can be sustained, in combination with strong directionality, displacement distances of adult A. solaris could range from 250-520 m/ day, depending on the prevailing substrate. Sustained movement of A. solaris is, however, likely to be highly constrained by habitat heterogeneity, energetic constraints, resource availability, and diurnal patterns of activity, thereby limiting their capacity to move between reefs or habitats.

SUBMITTER: Pratchett MS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5587101 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Body size and substrate type modulate movement by the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster solaris.

Pratchett Morgan S MS Cowan Zara-Louise ZL Nadler Lauren E LE Caballes Ciemon F CF Hoey Andrew S AS Messmer Vanessa V Fletcher Cameron S CS Westcott David A DA Ling Scott D SD

PloS one 20170906 9

The movement capacity of the crown-of-thorns starfishes (Acanthaster spp.) is a primary determinant of both their distribution and impact on coral assemblages. We quantified individual movement rates for the Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster solaris) ranging in size from 75-480 mm total diameter, across three different substrates (sand, flat consolidated pavement, and coral rubble) on the northern Great Barrier Reef. The mean (±SE) rate of movement for smaller (<150 mm total diameter ...[more]

PMID: 28877193

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Project description:BackgroundThe crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci (L.), has been blamed for coral mortality in a large number of coral reef systems situated in the Indo-Pacific region. Because of its high fecundity and the long duration of the pelagic larval stage, the mechanism of outbreaks may be related to its meta-population dynamics, which should be examined by larval sampling and population genetic analysis. However, A. planci larvae have undistinguished morphological features compared with other asteroid larvae, hence it has been difficult to discriminate A. planci larvae in plankton samples without species-specific markers. Also, no tools are available to reveal the dispersal pathway of A. planci larvae. Therefore the development of highly polymorphic genetic markers has the potential to overcome these difficulties. To obtain genomic information for these purposes, the complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial genome of A. planci and its putative sibling species, A. brevispinus were determined and their characteristics discussed.ResultsThe complete mtDNA of A. planci and A. brevispinus are 16,234 bp and 16,254 bp in size, respectively. These values fall within the length variation range reported for other metazoan mitochondrial genomes. They contain 13 proteins, 2 rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes and the putative control region in the same order as the asteroid, Asterina pectinifera. The A + T contents of A. planci and A. brevispinus on their L strands that encode the majority of protein-coding genes are 56.3% and 56.4% respectively and are lower than that of A. pectinifera (61.2%). The percent similarity of nucleotide sequences between A. planci and A. brevispinus is found to be highest in the CO2 and CO3 regions (both 90.6%) and lowest in ND2 gene (84.2%) among the 13 protein-coding genes. In the deduced putative amino acid sequences, CO1 is highly conserved (99.2%), and ATP8 apparently evolves faster any of the other protein-coding gene (85.2%).ConclusionThe gene arrangement, base composition, codon usage and tRNA structure of A. planci are similar to those of A. brevispinus. However, there are significant variations between A. planci and A. brevispinus. Complete mtDNA sequences are useful for the study of phylogeny, larval detection and population genetics.

Project description:In marine organisms, and in particular for benthic invertebrates including echinoderms, olfaction is a dominant sense with chemosensation being a critical signalling process. Until recently natural product chemistry was the primary investigative approach to elucidate the nature of chemical signals but advances in genomics and transcriptomics over the last decade have facilitated breakthroughs in understanding not only the chemistry but also the molecular mechanisms underpinning chemosensation in aquatic environments. Integration of these approaches has the potential to reveal the fundamental elements influencing community structure of benthic ecosystems as chemical signalling modulates intra- and inter-species interactions. Such knowledge also offers avenues for potential development of novel biological control methods for pest species such as the predatory Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COTS), Acanthaster planci which are the primary biological cause of coral cover loss in the Indo-Pacific.In this study, we have analysed the COTS sensory organs through histological and electron microscopy. We then investigated key elements of the COTS molecular olfactory toolkit, the putative olfactory rhodopsin-like G protein-protein receptors (GPCRs) within its genome and olfactory organ transcriptomes. Many of the identified Acanthaster planci olfactory receptors (ApORs) genes were found to cluster within the COTS genome, indicating rapid evolution and replication from an ancestral olfactory GPCR sequence. Tube feet and terminal sensory tentacles contain the highest proportion of ApORs. In situ hybridisation confirmed the presence of four ApORs, ApOR15, 18, 25 and 43 within COTS sensory organs, however expression of these genes was not specific to the adhesive epidermis, but also within the nerve plexus of tube feet stems and within the myomesothelium. G alpha subunit proteins were also identified in the sensory organs, and we report the spatial localisation of G?i within the tube foot and sensory tentacle.We have identified putative COTS olfactory receptors that localise to sensory organs. These results provide a basis for future studies that may enable the development of a biological control not only for COTS, but also other native pest or invasive starfish.

Project description:Outbreaks of coral-eating crown-of-thorns sea stars (CoTS; Acanthaster species complex) cause substantial coral loss; hence, there is considerable interest in developing prevention and control strategies. We characterized the microbiome of captive CoTS and assessed whether dysbiosis was evident in sea stars during a disease event. Most tissue types had a distinct microbiome. The exception was female gonads, in which the microbiomes were highly variable among individuals. Male gonads were dominated (>97% of reads) by a single Mollicutes-related operational taxonomic unit (OTU). Detailed phylogenetic and microscopy analysis demonstrated the presence of a novel Spiroplasma-related bacterium in the spermatogenic layer. Body wall samples had high relative abundance (43 to 64% of reads) of spirochetes, likely corresponding to subcuticular symbionts reported from many echinoderms. Tube feet were characterized by Hyphomonadaceae (24 to 55% of reads). Pyloric cecal microbiomes had high alpha diversity, comprising many taxa commonly found in gastrointestinal systems. The order Oceanospirillales (genera Endozoicomonas and Kistimonas) was detected in all tissues. A microbiome shift occurred in diseased individuals although differences between tissue types were retained. The relative abundance of spirochetes was significantly reduced in diseased individuals. Kistimonas was present in all diseased individuals and significantly associated with diseased tube feet, but its role in disease causation is unknown. While Arcobacter was significantly associated with diseased tissues and Vibrionaceae increased in diversity, no single OTU was detected in all diseased individuals, suggesting opportunistic proliferation of these taxa in this case. This study shows that CoTS have tissue-characteristic bacterial communities and identifies taxa that could play a role in reproduction and host health.IMPORTANCE Coral-eating crown-of-thorns sea stars (CoTS; Acanthaster species complex) are native to the Indo-Pacific, but during periodic population outbreaks they can reach extreme densities (>1,000 starfish per hectare) and function as a pest species. On the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, CoTS have long been considered one of the major contributors to coral loss. There has been significant investment in a targeted control program using lethal injection, and there is interest in developing additional and complementary technologies that can increase culling efficiencies. The biology of CoTS has been studied extensively, but little is known about their associated microbiome. This cultivation-independent analysis of the CoTS microbiome provides a baseline for future analyses targeting the functional role of symbionts, the identification of pathogens, or the development of reproduction manipulators.

Dataset Information

Body size and substrate type modulate movement by the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster solaris.

Publications

Body size and substrate type modulate movement by the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster solaris.

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